Rail anchor



Oct. 25, 1927. E. WOODINGS 1,646,780

RAIL ANCHOR wrmzssss l A o INVENTOIR WW" Q V T) 112; W MM Oct. 25 1927-.16406 780 E. WOODINGS- RAIL ANCHOR il d may 2 s Sheets-Sheet 2 an,%7/23n 0" W'TNESSES a I WW I 1 ,wW, m

Patented 0a.. 25, 192 7.

UNITED STATES BAIL ANCHOR.

VANIA.

PATENT 2 OFFICE.

ASSIGNOR TO WOODINGS FORGE A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- Applicationfiled-May 19,1926. Serial No. 110,154.

This invention relates to devices for preventing the longitudinalcreeping of rail-- road rails. Such devices are commonly known as railanchors, rail stays, anticreeper's, creep checks, and the like. Morespecifically this invention relates to rail anchors comprising a singlepiece of resilient steel adapted to be distorted to permit moving togripping position on a rail base, and to secure when so positioned apositive grip \vithan edge contact with the under side of the rail,maintained by resiliency of thebody of the anchor.

Among the objects of the invention areto provide a simple, economical,one-piece, selflocking rail anchor which will grip the rail base withgreat tenacity, which will hold its grip due to resiliency of the metaldistorted within its el'astic limits by placing the anchor on the rail,and which may be men ufactured from bar steel by die forging operations.i

A further object is to so shape and bend the body of the anchor that thenecessary distortion thereof for securing it in place on a rail base maysafely occur, and so that the several contacting portions of the anchormay be properly positionedwith respect to the rail by spring pressure ofthe resilient anchor. body A further object is to provide an anchorhaving portions adapted to contact with the under side of the rail attheir edges or' corners only, such contacts being preliminarilymaintained by resiliency of the anchor body.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingspecification.

This application is in part a continuation of a previously filedapplication Serial Number 89,069, filed February 18,1926.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rail R and supportingtie T, with a rail anchor A in operative position on the rail;

' Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section through the rail, withaosideelevation of the anchor A applied thereto; Fig. 3 is a partial''vertical section on the line III- II of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a partialvertical section showing a modified anchor B; Fig. 5 is a view similarto Fig. 1, showing a further modification in an anchor C; Fig. 6 is aview similar to Fig. 2, showing a modified anchor D; Fig. 7

is a cross section through the anchor D on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6;Fig. 8 is a section of anchor D on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 6.; Fig. 9shows a side elevation of another modified anchor E applied to a rail;Fig. 10 showsstill another modified anchor F in side elevation appliedto a rail; Fig. 11 is a partial section of anchor F on the line XI-XI ofFig. 10; Fig. 12 shows still another modified anchor G in side elevationon a rail; Fig. 13 1s a partial section on the line XIII- XIII of Fig.12; and Fig. -14 is a partial vertical section on the line XIVXIV ofFig. 12.

Referring to thedrawings, Fig. 2 shows one form of my rail anchorapplied to the base of a standard rail R. The anchor as a whole isdesignated by the letter A. The rail is shown in section, and comprisesthe usual web W. The two sides of the rail base as divided by the Webare designated by letters w and 3 respectively. The anchor is preferablformed from a rectangular bar of good stee as for example having about.60% carbon content, bentby suitable die pressing or forging processesinto a body having an i intermediate downwardly bowed portion forming amain body bend 1, with a lateral. rail base-contacting portion 2 on oneside,

and a second rail base-contacting portion 3 on v the other side of thebend 1, with a supplementary downwardly and outwardly bent portionforming a'bend 4 beyond the railcontactingportion 3, and a supplementarydownwardly and outwardly bent portion. 5

under face of the rail base at points symmetrically disposed, near butnot at the edges of the rail base. I

The other end of the anchor is formed into a hook'I-I, by a verticalupwardly extending portion 7, and an inturned end or terminal portion 8,as illustrated. This end of the'anchor for cohvenience may be referredto as the hooked end.

The anchor is formed from This end extends upthe blank to I final formbya succession of die forging of pressing operations during the courseof which the metal in the base-contacting portions 2 and 3 is preferablypressed so as to thicken the bar progressively from the rear edges tothe forward edges of those portions,

as illustrated in Fig. 3, this thickening being edges a and 6 only oftheportions 2 and 3 into contact with the bottom of the rail, un-

, the anc der operating conditions, as illustrated in Figs.'1,12 and 3.By theforward edge of as used in this specification and the claims, ismeant the edge on the side of the anchor in the direction from which therail tends to creep. In other words the, forward edge of the anchor ispositioned toward the rear of the creeping rail. 1

The notch or recess with and seat upon the upperface of the rail base 3when the anchoris in normal position thereon. The-u ')per-face 10 of thenotch as S own in' Figs. .2 and 3 extends obhquely across the cam face 6of the free end 5 of the anchor. The. under rail-engaging face 12 of theterminalportion 8 is sloped to conform Y with the upper surface of .therail base a so that it may seat directly thereon when the anchor isapplied.l; The face 12 is in longitudinal alinement with the face 10 ofthe notch N, so that when the anchor is applied to a rail itwill'hethrown by resiliency of the anchor through contactof the portion7 and obliquely positioned face '12 of the hook and by the face!)v andobliq'iliely positioned face 10 of the notch N with t e respectivecorners of the rail base, into the normally canted po-- .sition showninFig. 1. The resulting cant- 1 ing position, of-the' anchor as the face10 snaps onto the rail corner throws the faces a and 6 into contact withthe bottomof the frail, as shown in Fi s.--.'2 and 3. Similar innerupper corner 13 of the free end of the anchor passes the lower corner 110f the rail base 3 v Thereafter'an u ward force exerted means forcanting t e anchor is used'in anchors C, D, E, and F, below. referredto, with modifications. 0

The anchor A. is applied by .movmg t transversely under arail until thebook 11 engages the edge of the rail base myand the underneath the freeen of the anchor, as

for example .by' a .crowbar, causes the cam" face 6 to ride upwardagainst theside edge of the-rail y, theend be' gfpr'ced outward.thereby, the notch is reached or and of the portions 2 and 3, etc'.,'

N is formedby a substanti'ally vertical face 9, and acooperating uppermeeting face sloped-to conform.

maenao by the upper corner 15 of the rail base.

Thereupon the upper face 10 of the notch will ride up on the upper sideof the rail base y and a positive engagement'of the notch and rail basewill result. The oblique relation of face 10 will as it snaps over theand the opposed inner face of the hooked end of the anchor is slightlyless than the width of the rail base, so that when the anchor is appliedthere is a firm grip and contact of the anchor on the edges of the railbase. This is not depended on, however, for the effective holding of therail, as will be apparent.

In this upward movement of the free end 5 of the anchor the forward edgea of the rail-contacting portion 2 is not adapted to be brought intocontact with the under side of the'rail to any substantial degree untilthe anchor is canted by final engagement of notch Consequently there isno fulcruming as between the upper rail-contacting face 12 on top of therail and the portion 2 on the under side of. the rail base :20. The sameI is true as to the portion 3 and face 10 of the ,notch.

The necessary resiliency for allowing the anchor to be sprung toposition is supplied by the anchor body in the bends 17, 1, and 4.

In; normal seated position the anchor is positively seated on the uppersides of the rail base at each end, and is in edge contact with theunderside of the rail base at two places intermediate the railedges.These two edge contacts are preferablyat the two forward contatfingedges of the anchor onder the rail, these-contacts being preferably madeand temporarily maintained by distortion within the elastic limits ofthe metal of the anchor body.

The rail R is normally seatedvupon a tie plate P, 'which in turn restsupon a cross tie T, as illustrated in'Fig. 3. When the rail movesrelativeto the tie fromthe left as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, thehow- 1 of the anchor is carried against the side of the tie and anyfurther movement of the rail results in an abutment at a point below theplate P, of the anchor and tie. This tends to increase the cantin'g ofthe anchor,

causing a 'fulclsu ning of it in such canting movement agaifi sftl theunder side of the rail and on top of the rail at the rear edges of faces10 and 12, as illustrated in Figs. -1 and 3. preferably heatitreatedafter forming to increase'tlie hardness, and

illustrated, willtake every secure bitin The anchor being of hard steel,

at'the forward edges w and b of the anchor,

p 7 having llne-contactswi'th the under side'o'f the rail base as therail actually increasin with pressure of the creeping tendency. The gripof this form of anchor depends on this casting action of rail movementto give the desired resistance, since the'resiliency. of the anchoritself is used only for securing and maintaining the proper ositioningof the anchor on the rail. At t e same time on such a canting tendencythe faces 10 and 12 that seat on top of the rail base will tend to scorethe upper face of the rail at their rear edges, as will be apparent.

Preferably, as above stated, in the die forming processes used in makingthese anchors, the portions 2 and 3 ofthe anchor shown in Fig. 2, and ofthe corresponding portions of the anchors shown m Figs. 4,

- 6, 9 and 10 are made with slightly flattened 7, 8, and 11. By soinclined upper faces, sloping upward to the forward edge thereof asillustrated in Figs.

, doing a greater inclination of the lower contacting faces of theanchor with respect tothe under side of the rail is secured, and alonger line of biting contact with the lower face of the rail, and

consequently a more resistant grip of the anchor on the rail. However,it will be apparent that by leaving the bar in its original rectangularshape, without either flattening out the tops of anchor portions 2 and3, or changing the uniform thickness of those portions in any way, bysecuring a normall canted position because of the inclination of theupper base engaging faces at the ends of the anchor, there will besecured .a line contact at the forward edge of the anchor with the underside of the rail.

It is desirable in this latter case to cant the anchor at initialposition more than where contact; with the under rail face is formed byinchned faces on the portions 2 and 3 of the anchor.

The provision of the bends 1, 4, and 1'1", in the anchor body areimportant though the proportions are not critical. The main bend 1extends downward a considerable distance,

, and forms an effective abutment for engagin .thii

a cross tie. In addition the metal in bend arranged as illustrated,furnishes a resilient body for the anchor, permitting sufiicientdistortion or straightening out thereof for bending or pulling the freeendof the anchor outward to ermit it to slip up over the edge of the mand then to return to gripping position.-

-The supplementary be d 17' gives the necessary .size and space to thehook H at the initlallyseating endf the anchor to permit it'to be freelyanchor to be freely rotated about the hook positioned and the until thenotch N snaps onto the opposite edge of the-rail base, and the anchorcants to normal position.

In Fi 4 there is illustrated a modifica-- tion, in t at instead of thenotch or recess N The under 'face of this ridge is inclined with respectto a perpendicular betweenthe side planes of the anchor exactly as isthe upper face 10 of the notch N, and with the same result incooperation with the similarly inclined face at the other end of theanchor of/tilting the anchor slightly so as to cause the forward edgesaa and bl) only of the anchor to engage the under side of the rail. Inother respects the construction and operation of the anchor B aresimilar to tho'se of anchor A described above.

In Fig. 5 a further modification is shown in that the lower portion ofthe body of anchor C, which is similar otherwise to anchor A, is bentslightly rearward, so as to give a more nearly parallel contact of theside of the anchor against the tie face. This gives greater leverage forthe initial canting movement of the anchor.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 a modified anchor D is illustrated, wherein theparts similar to corresponding parts described above in reference toanchor A are given like reference numerals as on A, followed by thesuilix d. The same system of'numbering is followed with respect to allthe modifications. At

' this hump or lug is raised to such an elevation that its highestpoint, constituting a rounded edge or corner 31, and the forward edge bdof the anchor opposite the hump, are in substantial parallelismlongitudinally with the under face of the upper railengaging recessConsequently,

cooperate with the face 12 in securin and holding the anchor in normalcanted position when it is placed on the rail. Thus the lug engages theunder side of the rail on the rear side of the anchor, preventing anyaccidental displacement or looseness of the anchor on the rail after itis applied. In effect the lug 30 acts as a chock or wedge behind thecanted anchor to prevent its rocking backward. It is not intended tohave any material effect in the way of direct grip on the 'rail.

In Fig. .9 a trated in that in the anchor E both the portions 2 and 3,have the rear edges struck up to form lugs 30 having contacting edges31. Otherwise the construction of the device is substantially the sameas that illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8. In fact Fig. 7 may be regarded as acorresponding section of Fig. 9 as well as a section of Fig 6. On thiscase there are normally four edge contacts with the under face of therail. As with the anchor D the purpose of the two lugs 30 in furthermodification is illus ill) I the hump 30 with its edge a 31 and the face10,

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anchor E is to prevent back tilting of the anchor on the rail.

In Figs. and 11 a further modification is illustrated in that instead ofthe hook H as formed by the portions 2, 7 and 8 in anchor A, a terminalloop L is formed in the anchor F by extending the vertical por tion 7 fupward and then inward and clownward so that its end face will bear uponthe inclined upper face of the rail base on at a material distance fromthe outer e v te thereof, nearly above the oppositely contacting portion2 The end 40 of the loop L is shaped to lie flat upon the upper face ofthe rail base a being inclined 'to conform thereto transversely of therail base, and inclined longitudinally of the rail base in alinementwith the wall l0 of the notch Nf,

' Fig. 11.

so as, in cooperation with the said upper face of the notch to normallyposition the anchor in cantedposition, as illustrated in The otherportions ofthe anchor are constructed as described with reference toFig. 1. There is no striking up of any lug on the rear edge of theanchor F as shown in Figs. 6 or 9,, but this may be done, as and 'forthe purposes, and with the results of such lugs as described withrespect to anchors D or E, above.

The anchor F is applied, as will be readily understood, by slipping theloop L over one edge of the rail, and forcing the anchor inward bytransverse movement relative to the rail, the resiliency of the metal inthe loop L permitting itto open to permit the loop to pass onto the railbase w until the upper corner 13 of the free end of-the anchor passesthe lower corner 14 of the opposite'edge of the rail base. Thereupon anupward forcing of the'free end of the anchor, until the notch Nf snapsinto engagement with the upper outer corner 15 of the railbase,positions it upon the rail. The resiliency of the metal in thebends 1 and 4 and loopL permits'this distortion, but brings the anchorback towards its original position as far as the dimensions of the railbase permit, resulting in a gripping of the edges of the rail base bythe anchor.

. under side of the rail;

When this position isreached the inclined faces 40 and-=10 throw theanchor to cant-ed position on the rail and so bring the forward edges ofand bf into contact with the Figs. 12,113 and 14 cation, the anchorGbeing adapted to be seated in a plane perpendicular to the axis of therail and to contact with the under side I of the rail base on oppositeedges of "the,

two-contacting portions 2 and 3, respectively. Y i

The metal in the ed to contact with rtions 2 and 3 adapts e under sideofthe rail,

is reformed in the die processes so as to in I cline the upper surfaceof the portion 2 m show another modifion the upper'faces of the railbase are not oblique to the plane of the sides of the anchor as inanchor A, but on the contrary are perpendicular to those planes. l/Vhenthe anchoris positioned as shown in Fig. 12 it is intended to contactwith the up er side of the rail on the faces 10 12 an at the oppositeedges ag and by of the portions 2 3 respectively.

The result of this construction is that this ahchor may be put on a raileither end to, without change of function. That is to say it isreversible. Movement of the rail to cause the anchor to abut the'tiewill tend to cant it, whereupon the edge of the anchor underneath therail on the forward side of the anchor will tend to bite into-and so to.

secure a positive grip on the under side of the rail and increaseresistance to passage of the rail through the anchor. This constructionof anchor results in a device that can, be

.put on by unskilled labor without danger of loo the grip onthe railincreased andmadeei fective by the canting moment produced by movementof the rail relative to the anchor, i

the anchor being limited in travel as a whole by'a-butment with "astationary tie. -Ma ny V disadvantages of anchors of two-piececonstruetion, and of one-piece anchors depend 1w ing on'a clamping orjaw grip on the rail I base'dependent upon resiliency of the anchorbody, are avoided. The presentanchor depends on resiliency of the anchorbody for positioning only, and thereafter functions by rigidity of theanchor-due to the grip produced by ment of the rail. 4

I claim:

.1. A one-piece resilient rail anchor adapted to extendunder andtoengage the base of the rail and to be retained thereon-by resiliencyof the 'ancho'r body, comprising terminal abut-ments adapted to en agethe'u per sides of the rail base on cue side oft e web, one end of theanchor being formed into an inclined cam face above one of saidabutments, and cooperative ,intermediate portions adapted to engage theunder side of the rail base near each side thereof, whereby-each cantingof the anchor by move-- side of the rail base may beengaged between anupper and a lower contacting portion of the anchor and the anchor may bebase, the body of the anchor between the said terminal portions and thesaid intermediate portions being formed into bends out of contact withthe under side of the rall, said in- .termediate portions being adaptedto engage the under side of the rail at their edges only,

7. adapted to engage whereby each side of the rail base may. be en gagedbetween an upper portion and the edge of a lower contacting portion ofthe anchor.

3. A resilient one-piece rail anchor adapt ed to extend under and toengage the base of a rail, comprising upwardly extending .terminalportions with inturned projections adapted to seat on the upper faces ofthe rail base, the anchor body extending from said terminal portions.respectively straight downwardly beyond the rail base and adapted tocontact with the side faces of the-said base throughout and thenextending inward and upward to form intermediate portions the rail onthe under side of the base and then downward and inward to form anintermediate enlarged bend or yoke between the said intermediateengaging on 'the rail.

portions.

4. A one-piece anchorfadapted to be re tained upon a rail base by itsown resiliency, comprising a hook at one end adapted to engage the upperside of the rail, an adjacent portion int e body of the anchor adaptedto contact with the under face of the rail, an enlarged bend intheanchor body beyon said base-contacting portion, a second portionadapted to contact with the under side of the rail, the anchor beyondsaid second contacting portion being bent downward and then upward toform a free end having; an inclined cam face,'a rail-base-engaging a utment across said cam face, whereby when the hook portion engages oneside of the rail the other end of the anchormay be forced upward tocause the cam face to contact with the other edge of the rail and thento ride u ward and outward thereon until the said a utinent. engages theupper outer corner of the rail and locks the anchor in position '5'. Arail anchor v in claim 1, characterized by the fact that theintermediate portions are adapted to engage substantiallyja's des cribedin claim 2, characterized by the fact that between the two portionsadapted to engage the under side of the rail the body of the anchor isformed into a resilient depending bend 8. A rail anchor substantially asdescribed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that one end of theanchor is adapted to hook over one edge of a rail and the free endcomprises an inclined face having, a transverse abutment thereacrossadapted to engage and seat upon the upper corner of the rail base uponupward movement of the free endof the anchor after bringingxthe saidinclined face against the edge of the rail base.

9. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim 1,v characterizedby the. fact that the portions thereof adapted to seat on the uppersides of the rail base are obliquely positioned with respecttoperpendiculars to the planes of the sides of the anchor, and theportions adapted to seat on the under side of the rail are raised towardtheir forward edges, whereby the anchor is normally held in a cantedposition on the rail with only its .forward edgc'in contact with theunder side of the Ial I 10. A rail anchor substantially'as described inclaim 4, characterized by the factsthat the portions thereof adapted toseat on the upper sides of the rail base are obliquelypositioned withrespect to perpendiculars to the planes of the sides of the anchor andthe portions adapted to seat onthe under side of the raild contact withthe under side of the rail at their forward edges only.

11. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim 4, characterizedby the fact that the up er rail-engaging face of said hooked end an theabutment in said inclined face of the free end are in parallel alignmentlongitudinally and inclined with respect to the side faces of theanchors, whereby to seat the anchor in canted osition on therail.

.112. Arail anchor su stantially as described in claim 4, characterizedby the fact that a lug is placed in the rear edge of the intermediatecontaeting pprtion near the camfaced end, said In eing adapted to bearagainst the under ace of the rail when the anchor is in normal cantedposition.

13. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim .4, characterizedby the fact that a lug is struck up in the rear edge of eachintermediate contacting portion, said lugs being adapted to bear againstthe under face of the rail when the anchor is in normal canted position.

14. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim 3, characterizedby the fact that the lower portion of the body comprised in the saiddepending bend is bent rea'rwardly out of the median plane of the upperportions of the anchor body.

15. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim 1, characterizedby the fact that at one end the anchor terminates in a loop that extendsabeve the rail edge and has its end adapted to seat on the upper side ofthe rail a substantial distance from the rail edge.

16. A rail anchor substantially as described in claim 1, characterizedby the fact that at one end the anchor terminates in a loop that extendsabove the rail edge and. at its end is adapted to seat on the upper sideof the rail a substantial distance from the rail edge, said loopterminating in a face shaped to seat on the sloping upper side of therail face and inclined longitudinally of the anchor, whereby to hold theanchor in canted position upon the rail.

17. A rail anchor adapted to engage the base of a rail and to be heldthereon by its own resiliency, one end of the anchor being turned backto positively seat upon the up per side of the rail base, the other endbeing adapted to be sprung outward to pass upward past the other edge ofthe 'rail base after the first mentioned end of the anchor is seated andhaving anotch therein to engage the upper corner of the rail base, saidnotch being positioned obliquely across the inner anchor face, wherebythe anchor is held with its forward edge only in contact wi-ththe underside of, the rail base.

18.-A rail anchor adapted to engage b its inherent resiliency the baseof a rail, av-

ing its ends bent upward and inward to seat on top of the rail base,provided with an abutment in one of-said ends. adapted to engagethe-.upp'er corner of the rail base whereby to hold the anchor ina planeoblique tothe vertical plane ,.perpend1cular to the axis of the rail andso to engage the under side of the rail with the edge only of theanchor. v p

19. A one-piece rail anchor adapted to extend under a rail and to beretained on the base thereof, having a plurality of faces adapted toengage the underside of the rail at points spaced inward from the edgesof.

the rail and at the forward edges only of the faces, and means to holdthe anchor with the edges in engagement with the underside v a of therail.

20. A rail anchor adapted to extend under a rail and to be retained on.the base thereof, having a plurality of inclined intermediate facesformed by bends in the anchor.

and adaptedv to engage the underside of the rail at the forward edges ofthe faces, and integral means to hold the anchor with the said edges inengagement with the underside of the rail. I

21. A rail anchor adapted to be Held in engagement with the base of arail by its own resiliency, the anchor having a' pluralits ownresiliency, the anchor having inclined faces adapted to en a e theunderside of the rail, and means to ofd the anchor in position with thesaid inclined faces engaging theunderside of the rail at their forwardedges only.

23. A rail anchorada-pted to engage at each i end the upper corners ofthe base of a rail,

'one end of the anchor having a 'raiL base engaging abutment adapted toen age the upper corner ofth'e rail and shape to hold the anchor at anoblique angle to the plane of the base of the rail, whereby to press theforward edge only of the anchor against the lower face of the rail.

In testimony whereof, I sign myiname.

EMANUELWOODI NGS.

